Rosie the Riveter – The Saturday Evening Posthttp://www.saturdayeveningpost.com
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Mon, 01 Jul 2013 12:00:33 +0000http://www.saturdayeveningpost.com/?p=87889Mary Doyle Keefe was a 19-year-old phone operator in Arlington, Vermont, when Rockwell called and asked if she wouldn’t mind posing for the soon-to-be iconic cover. Read the Post’s 2013 interview with Mary, who passed away this week at age 92.

On the evening of June 6, 1994, the 50-year anniversary of D-Day, Jay Leno did a special tribute on The Tonight Show. He introduced several World War II veterans who were sitting in the audience before he presented his next guest, Mary Doyle Keefe. Mary was the model for Rockwell’s May 29, 1943, cover Rosie the Riveter. As Vicki Randle, a member of The Tonight Show band, sang the song “Rosie the Riveter,” Mary drilled several screws into a board making the drill sound at the end of the song.

Mary was a 19-year-old phone operator in Arlington, Vermont, when Rockwell called and asked if she “wouldn’t mind posing for a painting.” She posed twice because the white blouse and shoes for the first sitting were not what he was looking for. Mary explains that yes, she did hold a ham sandwich while posing; she did have the white handkerchief that peeked from a pocket; she never saw Hitler’s book Mein Kampf; and the rivet gun was a lightweight fake. “I’ve had people come to me and say, ‘How did you ever hold that rivet machine?’ ‘Oh,’ I said, ‘it wasn’t too bad.’” Rockwell had transformed the petite, 110-pound Mary into a brawny, muscular woman for the painting. She says, “He called me and apologized for making me so large.”

During the war, Rosie the Riveter and Rockwell’s Four Freedoms toured the country raising money for the war bond drive. “I was very pleased that they could make all this money for the war.” She adds, “I am proud of this painting. It’s a symbol of what the women did for the war, to do their part, and to give up their nail polish.”

Mary was also a special guest at Sotheby’s when they auctioned Rosie the Riveter on May 23, 2002. The painting sold for $4.9 million to the Elliot Yeary Gallery in Colorado, and has since been sold to the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Arkansas.

Even today, Mary autographs Rosie the Riveter posters for people, and happily reminisces about the time she danced with Leno on The Tonight Show.

]]>Recently, Dick Wolfsie from WISH-TV stopped by our offices to talk with our history editor/archivist Jeff Nilsson and tour our archives. Below you can watch Wolfsie’s three-part series on The Saturday Evening Post to learn more about our history, peek inside our archives and library, and see more of those beautiful cover illustrations (like Rosie the Riveter):

“The Barbershop Quartet”

“The Barbershop Quartet” by Norman Rockwell Sept 26, 1936

Did you know that there’s a Barbershop Harmony Society dedicated to preserving the history and art of the old-fashioned singing style? And did you further know that a large mural of this 1936 Rockwell classic graces the outside of the society’s beautiful headquarters in Nashville, Tennessee? If you click on the cover for a close-up and observe how Rockwell captured each face at the point of a crucial note, you can just hear the faint strains of “Let Me Call You Sweetheart.” Or perhaps “Sweet Adeline.” And it sounds good!

I’m catching some details I hadn’t before noticed. I can’t believe I never noticed the old copy of “Police Gazette” with a scantily clad woman on the front page. And the Rockwell attention to detail includes a shaving mug, straight razor, and even a comb missing a few teeth.

“Rosie the Riveter”

“Rosie the Riveter” by Norman Rockwell May 29, 1943

With her strong arms and dirty face, Rosie the Riveter serves as the symbol for the more-than-capable World War II working woman. This was 1943, and it was no time for the delicate, coddled female beauty. But Rosie is still a girl, as shown by easy-to-miss details such as the compact and scalloped hankie sticking out of her coveralls pocket. The feminine touches notwithstanding, she is all business with the patriotic buttons on her overalls and—something else I’ve missed before—a copy of Hitler’s “Mein Kampf” being crushed under her sensible brown shoe. You go, girl!

“The Great Debate”

“lThe Great Debate” by Norman Rockwell Oct 30, 1948

When looking at this cover, I’ve always noticed the poor kid left to cry on the floor while his parents argue candidates. Get used to it, kid! This cover may be from the 1940s, but politics is still ugly business today. I’ve also always noticed that the sulking wife is determined the winner should be Harry S. Truman while hubby is adamantly for Thomas E. Dewey. What I haven’t noticed before are the overturned glass on the table, the kickin’ red slippers she’s wearing, and the dog and cat. The dog on the floor is just about as upset as the poor toddler! The cat on the back of the lady’s chair is in “fight or flight” mode—do I run or will I have to lash out at someone? “The dog,” said Rockwell, “is mine and so is the cat. The canary is straight off a picture in a bird-seed catalog.” It looks to me like that canary would like to fly away from the scene. Oh, and I love the old-fashioned toaster.

“The Doctor and the Doll”

“The Doctor and the Doll” by Norman Rockwell March 9, 1929

Talk about a classic! This 1929 cover is one of the most beloved of all time. If you’ve ever had to wait in a doctor’s office, you’ve probably had time to study this scene. You no doubt recall the anxious look on the little girl’s face and the kindly, patient look of the delightful doctor. After much serious consideration, we think the prognosis is good for the doll. What I just noticed is the set of candles atop the desk and that—leave it to Rockwell—the right candle is not quite straight.

The “doctor” was model Pop Fredericks who had ambitions of becoming an actor, a dream that never quite panned out. But Pop was immortalized on Post covers if not the stage. Rockwell used him as a model time after time. He appeared on the canvasses of the great artist as a cellist, a tourist, a politician, Ben Franklin, Santa Claus, and, of course, one of America’s most beloved doctors.

“The Babysitter”

“The Babysitter” by Norman Rockwell November 8, 1947

The poor babysitter! It doesn’t look like she’ll get any homework done tonight. Her history and geometry books are neglected, but, ever the good student, she is studying a babysitter’s guide to figure out—well, frankly—how to shut this kid up. And it appears that much has been tried already; cast aside are a teddy bear, a well-worn doll, a rattle, a coloring book, and a mostly finished baby bottle. Rockwell’s mania for detail even extended to the slipcover and the exceedingly detailed wallpaper. One feels for the baby, but the viewer can’t help but hope for relief for the beleaguered young lady soon. You could look at this painting time and again without noticing the cola bottle almost hidden by the book in the upper left. It’s almost a shame she’s too young for something stronger.